


Beyond the Lights

by tvfanatic97



Series: Rom-Com Tropes Galore [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, F/M, MJ is a famous singer, Suicide Attempt, peter is peter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 03:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18274469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvfanatic97/pseuds/tvfanatic97
Summary: The pressures of fame have superstar singer MJ on the edge, until she meets Peter, New York's own superhero Spider-Man who works to help her find the courage to develop her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be.Beyond the Lights (2014) AU.





	Beyond the Lights

**Author's Note:**

> This film isn't really a rom-com but cut me some slack, okay.

MJ paused in her steps to take a lengthy, deep inhale and exhale, the wind blowing at her face in a way that surprisingly soothing as her hair whipped around from the force of it. She hurriedly wiped the tears freely falling down her face away briefly then slipped off the stilettos she’d been donning from the awards show and climbed up on to the balcony railing before she could talk herself out of it.

Her eyes swept across the expanse of the New York skyline at night time and despite how high up she was, a sense of calm came over her taking away her pre-existing slight fear of heights. The cool breeze against her face and bare legs barely covered by the skimpy excuse for clothes she was wearing her mom had insisted she wear tonight was counteracted by the warmth of the entire large bottle of champagne she’d consumed that now sat low in her belly.

She took one final look at the sleepless city ahead of her then closed her eyes as she readied herself for freedom but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Uh, hi miss,” the male voice said gently not wanting to startle her.

MJ opened her eyes and turned to her left where the voice had originated to find the familiar New York vigilante crouched on the ledge watching her. He couldn’t properly emote with the mask of his suit on but she could sense his concern.

She turned back to look over the city, trying to conceal her tears. “Don’t you have puppies to rescue or something?” she whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

“Uh no, no. What’s your name miss?”

“What, you don’t recognise me? The infamous Mary Jane? The girl every guy wants to fuck and every girl wants to be?” She asked in a faux-cheery tone, tears continually falling down her face. “After all that work my mom’s put into turning me into a fantasy,” she snorted humorlessly.

“Your name is Mary Jane?”

“What does it matter? No one cares about me.” Then quitter she added, “No one sees me.”

She then let go of the ledge and slid off it ready to go but her fall was broken whilst she was mid-air by a weird sticky, cold substance on her wrist.

“Hang on to my webbing, okay? Please,” He quietly pleaded to her.

She made no attempt to grab hold of it and let her body hang limply, before she closed her eyes again.

Spider-Man tried to beg her again, “Hey, hey, look at me! Grab on to the webbing. Please?”

He cleared his throat, willing himself to calm down and get rid of the panic in his voice before he spoke again. “I see you. I see you, Mary Jane.”

That got her attention and caused her to blink her eyes open to stare up at him and once she’d met his eyes he repeated more firmly this time, “ _I see you_.”

They held their gaze for a prolonged moment, until MJ eventually moved to wrap both of her hands around the webbing then Spider-Man started pulling her up towards him. He wrapped both arms around her waist once she was close enough then hauled her body over the balcony railing.

He brought her to the ground so they were sat facing each other, their faces a mere few inches apart. Curiously MJ reached a hand out to his chin, her hand tracing along it to find the seam of his mask and when he continued to watch her and did nothing to stop her, she took it to mean she could carry on so started to roll the mask up off his face.

Slowly and carefully she rolled the mask up and she’d just rolled it to beneath his nose when the hotel room door burst open to reveal police officers with a battering ram and her frantic mother on the other side who immediately ran towards the balcony.

Spider-Man immediately pulled away from her and brought his mask back down just as her mom reached them. “Michelle? Michelle, c’mon honey,” she said gently tugging at MJ’s hands that were trying to reach for Spider-Man away. “Let’s go inside, c’mon.”

MJ ignored her mom and continued to stare at Spider-Man until the older woman got frustrated and wrapped two firm arms under MJ’s armpits to practically drag her back into the hotel room. “C’mon, honey. Let’s go inside,” she continued to whisper in a tone meant to be gentle and comforting but MJ was too transfixed on the mechanical eyes still watching her carefully for her mom’s words to register.

Her mom deposited her on the bed then went to dismiss the police officers who were awkwardly hovering in the doorway unsure what to do and the entire time MJ’s eyes never left Spider-Man, who she continued to watch through the still-open door.

Their stare was broken when her mom reappeared in front of her, throwing a dress into her lap.. “Here, change into this then we’ll sort out a press conference. Someone told the press so they’re gonna have questions.”

MJ didn’t move to get up or stare up at her mom, still looking out the window at Spider-Man who had politely averted his gaze and was no longer crouching on the ground, now instead standing awkwardly halfway between the door and the railing.

“Michelle, did you hear me?” Her mom asked, snapping her fingers in MJ’s face to get her attention. “Go to the bathroom and put this on whilst I deal with this mess, okay?”

Mechanically, she got up off the bed and slowly padded across the room to the bathroom all the while trying to watch Spider-Man on the balcony. She saw her mom go outside to speak to him before she shut and locked the bathroom door behind her.

Once alone she looked to face herself in the mirror, cataloguing her ruined make-up and still-wet eyes. She leaned her weight against the bathroom counter and looked intently at herself for a few moments before she shook her head to snap out of her haze.

She then washed her face and re-applied some make-up before changing into the dress her mom had given her- a white dress with black butterflies stitched on that she supposed was meant to convey a “girl next door” type vibe.

Once she was all dressed she looked up at her reflection then forced herself to smile before she turned back to go into the room where her mom was waiting with a pair of heels held out for her to take. She wordlessly took them then sat on the bed to slip them on as her mom started filling her in on her plan.

“Okay so press have been called to the business conference room downstairs, you’ll just tell them you had a little accident and hopefully this will all blow over by sunrise. Oh- and Spider-Man has agreed to be present at the press conference too.”

MJ wordlessly nodded along to her mom’s words, only half paying  attention as she looked past her out onto the balcony to see if he was still out there.

“Everyone is already waiting downstairs, come on,” her mom rushed her as she grabbed her hand to help her stand up then started to shuffle her out of the room.

They rode the elevator down with her mom briefing her on everything she was to say once they got into the room down to the exact wording, when she should smile, along with suggestions for a few jokes to throw into her speech to give it a lighter tone. The one minute ride stretched on for what felt like an eternity before the elevator finally reached the ground floor. MJ sighed exhaustedly then plastered a smile onto her face before walking out towards the conference room ready to face the parade.

Immediately as she walked into the room, blinding camera flashes started going off and she could hear shouts of her name along with reporters trying to sneak their questions in but she mostly ignored them, choosing to focus on the red and blue clad figure stood awkwardly next to the podium. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with his hands, switching from crossing them to holding them behind his back every second in a way that was endearing and made MJ smile her first genuine smile of the night- of probably the year, if she was being honest.

That relaxed her slightly as she squeezed past him to stand by the podium and started on the speech her mom had given her about her supposed drunken mistake, pausing occasionally to smile and fake-laugh at all the right places and throwing in a few jokes as per her mom’s suggestions.

She chose a reporter from the sea of raised hands to ask the first question.

“Yeah, how does a person fall off a balcony with a four and a half foot railing?” the guy asked.

MJ felt herself freeze, her toes curling in her high heels unsure how to answer.

Her mom chose that moment to step in, “She’s just here to make a statement.”

The same reporter persisted with his line of questioning, “Spider-Man, was this a suicide attempt?”

“Steve you’re not gonna hijack this press conference with your tabloid bullshit,” her mom said forcefully in an attempt to regain control of the press conference.

“Our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man can’t even answer a simple question now?” he retorted.

All eyes in the room, MJ’s included, turned to face the superhero in question who’s eyes were focused on MJ.

She took a tentative step away from the podium and slyly gestured for him to take her place to which he obliged as he stepped up to the podium. “Uh,” he got out then he just stood there silently for a moment clearly considering what to say.

MJ thought about whether he’d tell the truth. How would everyone react if they knew the truth? Did she want him to tell the truth?

Her increasingly frantic questioning was halted when he finally spoke up again, “I was on my nightly patrols of the city when I saw Miss Mary Jane hanging off the balcony railing. As I pulled her up to safety it was clear that she was inebriated, thank you.” She didn’t miss how his voice sounded different to how it had sounded back on the balcony, it was deeper and machine-like now as he addressed the press, like he had a voice modifier or something.

He made to walk away from the podium but MJ quickly stepped forward to place a hand on his shoulder so he’d stay put. “Truth is, I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn't for Spider-Man. He protects and serves the people of this city even when J Jonah Jameson tries to make him out to be a menace. Lucky for us, eh?” she added, getting a few laughs out of the people in the room. Without thinking about it she then leaned down to press a kiss against his masked cheek, the material of the mask feeling weird against her lips.

A host of questions erupted from the room of reporters who wanted to get more information out of her but her mom briskly ushered her and Spider-Man out of the conference room to go to the adjoining smaller meeting room.

She settled on a stack of chairs once the door was closed behind them and watched Spider-Man pace back and forth for a while before deciding to break the silence and stop his pacing. “I’d ask what you’re gonna do with your 15-minutes of fame but well, you're already you know…” she jokingly gestured to his suit.

Spider-Man stopped his pacing and stood facing her now.

“Can I ask you a question? Do you pull a lot of chicks with the whole sexy superhero thing? Well, I guess your identity is a secret actually so you probably don’t use it for that,” she said answering her own question. “But- I bet you’ve considered using it though, haven’t you? All that fame, power and pus-”

“Please don’t,” Peter interrupted her before she could finish her sentence, his voice now back to normal, “I don’t how you’re okay with any of this.” He exhaled loudly before carrying on, “Two hours ago you were- you were…”

MJ snorted at his words, “And you were feeding me some lie about how you “ _see me_ ” so tell me, what exactly do you see?”

She could tell he was slightly taken aback by how forward she was being but recovered quickly. “Nothing,” he breathed out quietly.

Now it was her turn to be taken back by his words but she didn’t get the chance to press him further or retaliate as the adjoining door burst open and her mom walked in. “C’mon you,” she said gesturing to MJ who immediately got up to leave with her.

What followed after was a blur of trying to dodge the reporters that had hung around to go back up to her room where she showered then collapsed in her bed.

 

* * *

 

The next couple of days were similarly a blur, time distorted as she went from interview to interview on her mini “apology” tour. She sat though record label meeting after record label meeting where she’d sit in a corner wishing she could be anywhere but there as she had to endure listening to her mother argue with execs about her album release and listen to the label’s degrading comments about how suicide wasn’t sexy or part of the fantasy that was "Mary Jane".

Her hotel room became the only place that she could seek refuge away from all the chaos and questions about her mental health.

She was sat in her room after having gotten her mom to eventually give her some space and leave her alone after reassuring her she wouldn’t drink anything when she heard a knock ring out, except it wasn’t at the front door but on her balcony door which she thought odd.

She cautiously walked up to the door and opened the door to find the recognisable superhero stood awkwardly on the other side, again looking like he didn’t know what to do with his hands which immediately made her smile for the first time since- since she’d last seen him, actually.

“Uh, hi Mary Jane. Or is it Michelle? I heard everyone calling you Mary Jane but then your mom called you Michelle so I was a little confused about what I should call you. Though actually thinking about, only your mom calls you Michelle so I don’t know why I even considered that being an option to anyone not her, that was really presumptuous of me-”

She interjected to stop his rambling, “You can call me MJ, spider-ling,” she said with a barely contained grin.

“Cool, cool, MJ. That’s-”

“Cool?” she offered helpfully.

He looked down at his feet bashfully and she could bet she’d be able to see a blush spread over his cheeks had he not been wearing the mask, which made the grin she was trying to contain break out.

“I just wanted to, um, to apologise for how I acted after the press conference. You didn’t deserve that and um-”

“Michelle!” her mom’s voice rang out from the other side of the door leading out to the hallway. “We need to start getting you ready for this event, darling.”

“Just a minute mom!” she shouted back before turning back to face Spider-Man. “I’m sorry that you had to lie,” she said, her voice much quieter this time.

“I don’t like lying.”

“Boy scout, huh?”

“Uh, no, I-”

MJ smiled before she could stop herself, “I’m just messing with you.”

“Oh,” he said and he laughed slightly. “Anyway, I just came to say sorry. And to see if you were okay.”

MJ was again taken back but in a good way this time. “What’s your name, Spider-Man? It feels weird to keep calling you that.”

The mechanical eyes of his suit widened briefly before he relaxed again, “Peter, my name is Peter.”

His voice was levelled and quiet, telling her he was telling her the truth. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Peter,” she said reaching a hand forward to shake his hand in hers which- _why_ did she do that?

Peter luckily didn’t tease her and instead reached a hand forward to shake her hand, “Nice to meet you too, MJ.”

Once they’d finished shaking hands neither moved to let go of the other person’s hand and instead just essentially held hands for a prolonged moment before Peter eventually moved to retract his hand. “I should get going.”

MJ titled her head to the side and watched him closely for a moment before making her decision, “Are you busy?”

“Uh well, y’know,” Peter mumbled, vaguely gesturing to the city behind him with a thumb over his shoulder. “Wait, why?”

“We can get my car and go somewhere,” she suggested.

“Oh,” he said dumbly. “Sure, yeah, I’d like that. We don’t even need your car y’know, we can just uh- thwip, thwip,” he said, motioning his hands like he was shooting out his webbing.

“I can’t- I’m not really ready to do _that_ ,” she admitted quietly, looking down at her feet instead of up at him.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry! That was so dumb, I’m sorry I didn’t even think- I don't know why I suggested that,” he rushed out.

“It’s okay, we can just drive to somewhere.”

He made a slight wincing sound, “I don’t know that it’s such a good idea for you to be seen driving around with Spider-Man.”

She snorted, “I’m used to avoiding paparazzi, don’t worry. And my car has blacked out windows so no one would see you. Just meet me round the back entrance where deliveries to the hotel restaurant are made, okay?” She felt weirdly giddy.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said with a small salute before jumping over the balcony railing off the building which momentarily made her heart drop before she remembered the things he was capable of.

She turned back to her room to grab her phone, room card and car keys, throw some shoes and a hoodie on then she opened her bedroom door to find that her mom wasn’t waiting on the other side luckily. She put the hood up over her head then peeked out into the hallway to check it was empty then she quietly closed her door, ensuring it didn’t slam or alert her mom who was just next door to the fact that she was leaving.

Once she got her door shut she jogged down the hall and caught an elevator down to the hotel garage to get her car without being bothered by anyone which was rare.

She drove the car round to the back, and was first disappointed to see no one waiting there but her disappointment disappeared when Peter appeared seemingly out of the shadows. How he was able to be stealthy and hide with his bright red and blue suit was beyond her.

“So where are we going?” Peter asked after settling into the passenger seat, as he buckled himself in.

“I am really, _really_ hungry so we’re gonna make a stop for food first of all.”

“The most important thing,” Peter joked.

“Duh.”

 

* * *

 

“Okay here we are,” MJ said putting the car into park and resting her head back on the headrest.

After taking a moment to rest she then started unpacking their food and laying it out on the console between them, eager to dig in.

She was so focused on the food and her hunger that she didn’t notice Peter taking off his mask until it was fully off and she was looking at a face that was strange yet felt oddly family to her staring back at her, hair tousled from the mask no doubt.

Peter froze under her scrutinising gaze, “Sorry I, uh, I can’t eat with the mask. I mean, I could if I rolled it up like over my mouth but it was getting a little weird keeping it on.”

“You’re cute,” MJ noted and she was happy to finally see the blush she’d long suspected would colour his cheeks when he was embarrassed with her own eyes now that the barrier of his mask was gone.

Peter stumbled over his words, not knowing how to accept her compliment so she saved him by speaking out, “So, you brought me to Dumbo Washington Street? That’s a little cliché and basic, don’t you think? Or is this some Spider-Man thing where you like it because you can look across as the city, _your_ city that you serve and protect and pat yourself on the back?”

Peter laughed and brought a hand up to nervously scratch at the back of his neck, “Maybe I just thought it was a nice place to bring a pretty girl.”

She turned to face him, a warmth blooming within her at his simple compliment. She bit her bottom lip to contain a smile, “Nah that’s not it. I think you come here to do your superhero brooding. I'm onto you.” She then looked away from him to start eating the food they’d bought.

“Okay, you got me, MJ,” he said with a laugh.

They ate the food in a comfortable silence until they were stuffed then they sat back just looking out ahead, still in silence.

“So what’s it like?” Peter asked, breaking the silence. “Being on stage, the lights, all of that?”

MJ turned her head to face him, “It’s, um, it’s like a high. Better than any drug.” Then after a pause, “So what’s it like for you?”

“What?”

“This whole thing,” she put a hand out to gesture at his suit. “Swinging around the city, saving lives?”

“It’s like a high. Better than any drug,” he said, repeating her own words back to her.

Again they were enveloped in silence and simply watched each other until again Peter broke it, “Don’t take this the wrong way but- I think that maybe you should get some help.”

“I’m okay, Peter,” she said with a small, reassuring smile. Peter looked at her like he didn’t believe her so she added, “For real. It was just a stupid, drunk mistake.”

Peter continued to look at her like he didn’t buy it and saw through her lie.

“What, are you saying I don’t look okay?” She asked teasingly, going for flirtatious in an attempt to fluster him so he’d drop this.

He broke their stare and she was pleased to see a hint of a blush spreading up from his neck. “Uh, listen I should probably go. Duty calls and all,” he said pointing a thumb out of the window, his other hand already clutching the previously discarded mask.

He went to put his mask on but paused, “Are you- are you gonna go back to your hotel? Back to, um…” He didn’t finish his question but the meaning was clear- _back to her mom_.

“443 Greenwich Street,” she stated simply.

He looked back at her with confusion. “What?”

“That’s my new place, I’m gonna go there.”

“Okay,” he said, nodding his head. “Are you gonna be okay?”

She leaned across the gap between them and pressed her lips against his, the kiss quickly deepening before she pulled away to slow things down before they escalated further.

She smiled to herself at the way Peter slowly blinked his eyes open once she was back in her own seat rather than practically in his lap. “I’ll be okay.”

Peter ran a hand over his face and exhaled slowly- yeah, she felt the same way- before turning to look at her again, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Peter,” she said almost rolling her eyes. "Here-" she fished her phone out of her hoodie pocket, "Put your phone number in here then I can call you if I need rescuing."

Peter snorted but acquiesced to put his phone number in her contacts then he handed her phone back to her. Their hands lingered in the space between the two seats when she moved to accept the phone he handed to her until Peter retracted his hand nervously, a blush blooming across his cheeks.

For a moment he made no move to leave still. "Oh my God Peter, you can go. You’ve already saved me, now other New Yorkers need Spider-Man," she dismissed him.

He smiled at her one final time before securing his mask back on then she watched as he got out of the car then shot a web up onto the nearby building and swung away leaving her smiling to herself before she caught herself and started the car to drive away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I have NOT abandoned 10 Things I Hate About You!!! I will go back and finish it, I just have a bunch of stuff I've written that I was gonna wait until I'd at least wrapped up the med au/reversal/10 things to post but it's nearly april and I'm running out of time. 'Beyond the Lights' isn't a rom-com but this is an au of a romantic film so I thought it'd be fine to add it to the series.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed the first installment and as always, comments and kudos are much appreciated!!!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @tvfanatic97-2 and on twitter @dayaspsychic x


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